Vladimir Putin’s ‘plan to become president for life’
“Russia is impossible without Putin.” This view was expressed by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Ministry of Defense and will resonate in the voices of millions of Russians who have seen Putin as president or prime minister for decades.
Their confidence in Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin must be reaffirmed in the July 1 referendum. The referendum will amend the Russian constitution to allow Putin to run for president for another two to six years.
At the age of 67, President Putin has not ruled out the possibility of running in the 2024 presidential election. The current term of his presidency will end in 2024. Thus, if he runs in the next election, he can remain President of Russia until 2036. The referendum will take place in Moscow’s Red Square immediately after end of the coronavirus lockdown in the city.
In January this year, the Russian president proposed an amendment to the country’s constitution with public support. A key point in the referendum on the amendment is to allow President Putin to run for the next two terms of two to six years. The referendum was originally scheduled for April 22, but was postponed to July 1 because of the coronavirus lockdown.
Due to the introduction of social distance requirement, the referendum across Russia will be held from June 25 to July 1, including regions that have been severely affected by the coronavirus. Each polling station will have a limit on the number of people who can enter at the same time, and in some areas, such as Moscow, electronic voting systems have been set up.
Russia has seen Putin nominated for prime minister (1999), then elected president (2000-2008), then prime minister (2008-2012), and again elected president (2012).
Although President Putin has said nowhere that he wants to run again, he has not denied it, which is now being talked about by his opponents, and former cosmonaut, Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova. So she has regularly said that she is paving the way for herself to be president for life, or at least until 2036, through this referendum.
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